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EPWU proposes 11 percent stormwater fee hike

Daniel Borunda, El Paso Times
Published 10:08 p.m. MT Nov. 9, 2015

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EPWU employees look over the construction site of the stormwater project in Central El Paso earlier this year. The Magnolia Pump Station and Pipelines is expected to be ready by summer 2016.(Photo: RUBEN R RAMIREZ EL PASO TIMES)Buy Photo

El Paso Water Utilities on Monday proposed raising the stormwater fee by 11 percent, which officials said is necessary to pay for projects that will help prevent flooding on Interstate 10 and other parts of El Paso.

"I think we have some very good projects. Once they are complete, we will see the light at the end of the tunnel with the interstate situation," John E. Balliew, president and CEO of El Paso Water Utilities, told the Public Service Board, referring to floodwaters that closed the freeway in years past.

Under the proposal, the current stormwater fee of $3.21 for the typical residential customer would rise 35 cents a month, water utility officials said at a budget workshop Monday evening.

Plans to possibly raise water and wastewater costs will be disclosed at a budget workshop at 6 p.m. Nov. 16 at EPWU's main office.

"I think we are going to be expecting an increase of some sort" to the water/wastewater part of the monthly bill, Balliew said after Monday's meeting. The amount of that proposed increase will be disclosed at next week's meeting, he said.

Only two residents spoke at Monday's public meeting and neither mentioned the proposed stormwater fee increase.

A final decision on the proposed increases will be made by the Public Service Board on Jan. 13, when the board votes on the budget for next fiscal year. The utility's fiscal year starts on March 1.

The board was shown a presentation for the proposed $57.8 million stormwater budget for fiscal 2016-17 at Monday's meeting.

EPWU staff said that the stormwater fee hike is needed to pay for the completion of projects for flood protection, pay debt from previous projects and increase cash reserves to maintain the utility's AA+ bond rating.

The proposed budget includes $41.7 million in construction, according to the water utility's presentation.

The funding would help complete several projects next year, including $5.3 million to deal with flooding along Interstate 10 in Central El Paso, $7.7 million for the Magnolia Stormwater Pump Station and Pipelines and $2 million for the Austin Pond near Austin High School and $1 million for the Pollard Pond at Pollard Avenue and Gateway South.

The new projects include $9 million in flood control in the Central area, $5.2 million in Northwest El Paso and $2.4 million in Northeast, including improvements to Diana Drive where flooding has caused vehicles to fall into a ditch in the past.

"Everyday that we pass on along Interstate 10 between Copia and Piedras (streets) in that area, we see some very big ponds that are being created to alleviate the interstate when it floods," Balliew said. "In addition, upstream there are numerous other ponds that are designed to capture water before it gets anywhere near the interstate.

"All the water from the Franklin Mountains, Fort Bliss, McKelligon Canyon, ends up stacked up behind the freeway" Balliew said. "The freeway essentially acts as a dam and that's the reason there's flooding there."

The 11 percent proposed stormwater fee increase also would apply to the nonresidential customers. EPWU staff said that the proposed budget is part of efforts to address the $650 million worth of stormwater improvements set years ago in the Stormwater Master Plan. EPWU officials added that the utility reduced the stormwater maintenance expenditures by $200,000 last year.

According to EPWU materials, the proposed stormwater fee would rise about $2 to about $20 for a typical fast-food restaurant (11,123 sq. ft.) and would rise $31.69 to nearly $320 for a typical car dealership (176,068 sq. ft.).

The budget presentation showed that El Paso Water Utilities is projecting that the stormwater fee will continue to rise in the coming years.

For the typical residential customer, the fee is projected to jump 17 percent to $4.17 in fiscal 2017-18 and will keep rising each year to reach $5.50 in fiscal 2020-21, according to budget workshop materials.

Daniel Borunda may be reached at 546-6102; dborunda@elpasotimes.com; @BorundaDaniel on Twitter.

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What: Public Service Board workshop on proposed water, wastewater and reclaimed water budget